Tell A Fairy Tale Day: February 26

Tell a Fairy Tale Day: February 26

Why Fairy Tales Matter
by Hannah Boyd - Education.com

Once upon a time, people began telling stories around the fire. The stories were as deep and dark as the woods where talking animals, elves, fairies and other enchanting characters lived. As time passed, the stories were collected and written down. Many were made into movies. And then parents began asking: what is it about fairy tales? Aren’t they too violent and scary for impressionable children? And are Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella good role models? But that was far from the end. No matter how politically incorrect stories about evil stepmothers, damsels in distress, and cannibalistic old women may be, fairy tales are here to stay.

And that’s a good thing, say the experts. “They work through so many personal and cultural anxieties, yet they do it in a safe, ‘once upon a time’ way,” says Maria Tatar, a professor at Harvard College who writes about, and teaches classes on, fairy tales. “Fairy tales have a real role in liberating the imagination of children. No matter how violent they are, the protagonist always survives."

Indeed, as scary as many of these stories sound to parents, many scholars view them as helping children work through anxieties they can’t yet express. The famous writer and child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim believed fairy tales are important to children’s development because the main characters – many of them children themselves – demonstrate pluck, and the ability to triumph over adversity in a world of giants and cruel adults.

Check Out a Website . . . . .

Teaching with Fairy Tales @ TeacherNet
The fairy tale is a rich storytelling tradition — a source of inspiration for teachers and pupils that can be adapted to suit all ages and stages. The following is an introduction to the genre and its characteristics, with suggestions for activities based on the theme of fairy tales and myths. And there are numerous fairy-tale resources, from fun web sites to fairy tales with a twist.

Fairy Tale Resources @ K - 3 Learning Pages
Collected/Prepared by Carol Vaage
~ Fairy Tale Lesson Plans
~ Links Specific Fairy Tales
~ Fairy Tales Online
~ International Fairy Tales
~ Fairy Tale Web Quests

. . . . . or a book @ Your Local Library

Fairy Tale Feasts: a literary cookbook for young readers and eaters
Jane Yolen – Crocodile Books, 2006